NationMaster - Encyclopedia: All Hallows' Eve

Halloween

A jack-o'-lantern
Official Name	{{{official_name}}}
Also Called	Hallow Eve, All Saints' Eve
Observed By	Many Western nations, including the USA, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Canada
Type	Religious, Cultural
Significance	There are many sources of the significance of Halloween
Begins	{{{begins}}}
Ends	{{{ends}}}
Date	October 31
Gregorian Date (2006)	{{{date2006}}}
Celebrations	Trick-or-treating, Bobbing for apples, Costume parties, Carving jack-o'-lanterns
Observances	{{{observances}}}
Related To	{{{relatedto}}}

Halloween is an observance celebrated on the night of October 31, most notably by children dressing in costumes and going door-to-door collecting sweets or money. It is celebrated in much of the Western world, though most common in the United States, Puerto Rico, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Canada. Irish, Scots and other immigrants brought older versions of the tradition to North America in the 19th century. Most other Western countries have embraced Halloween as a part of American pop culture in the late 20th century. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1042x1024, 148 KB) A Jack o Lantern made for the Holywell Manor Halloween celebrations in 2003. ... Jack-o-lanterns may be carved with a friendly face, above, a menacing sawtooth scowl, or any look in between. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Bobbing for apples is a game customarily played on Halloween, but many people have looked upon this game as unsanitary. ... Halloween costumes A costume party (chiefly the US English term) or a fancy dress party (the more common British English term) is a type of party where the guests dress up in a costume. ... Jack-o-lanterns may be carved with a friendly face, above, a menacing sawtooth scowl, or any look in between. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining, as the final day of October. ... The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 kmÂ² 1. ... Popular culture, or pop culture, is the vernacular (peoples) culture that prevails in a modern society. ...

The term Halloween comes from hallow and eve, as it is the evening before "All Hallows Day". In Ireland, the name was Hallow Eve and this name is still used by some older people. Halloween was also sometimes called All Saints' Eve. The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European pagan traditions, until it was appropriated by Christian missionaries and given a Christian interpretation. In Mexico, Belgium, and Italy, November 2nd, the day after All Hallows Day, is the Day of the Dead. All Saints in Poland The festival of All Saints, also sometimes known as All Hallows, or Hallowmas, is a feast celebrated in their honour. ... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are catch-all terms which have come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion, as opposed to the Abrahamic religions. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... Sugar skull given and eaten for the Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead (DÃa de los Muertos, DÃa de los Difuntos or, simply, DÃa de Muertos in Spanish) is a Catholic celebration of the memory of deceased ancestors that is celebrated on November 1...

Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit. The PÃºca (also Pooka, Phooka, Phouka, PÃºka, Glashtyn, Gruagach) is a creature of Irish and Welsh myth. ...

In Great Britain and Ireland in particular, the pagan Celts celebrated the Day of the Dead on All Hallows Day (1st November). The spirits supposedly rose from the dead and, in order to attract them, food was left on the doors. To scare off the evil spirits, the Celts wore masks. When the Romans invaded Britain, they embellished the tradition with their own, which is both a celebration of the harvest and of honoring the dead. Very much later, these traditions were transported to the United States and Canada and other places in the New World. This article is about the European people. ... A Celtic cross. ... For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Carte dAmÃ©rique, Guillaume Delisle, c. ...

Halloween is sometimes associated with the occult. Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the "liminal" times of the year when the spirit world can make contact with the natural world and when magic is most potent (e.g. Catalan mythology about witches). The word occult comes from Latin occultus (hidden), referring to the knowledge of the secret or knowledge of the hidden and often meaning knowledge of the supernatural, as opposed to knowledge of the visible or knowledge of the measurable, usually referred to as science. ... Magic or sorcery are terms referring to the alleged influencing of events and physical phenomena by supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. ... In Catalan popular culture, there are a large number of myths and legends about witches (Catalan bruixes). In the popular imagination, a witch is a woman who, by means of a pact with the Devil, has acquired supernatural power, which she uses for her own benefit and for evil purposes. ...

Anoka, Minnesota, USA, the self-proclaimed "Halloween Capital of the World," celebrates with a large civic parade. Anoka is a city located in Anoka County, Minnesota. ... United States Marines on parade. ...

Salem, Massachusetts, USA, also has laid claim to the title "Halloween Capital of the World," though Salem has tried to separate itself from its history in the subject of witchcraft. Despite that, the city does see a great deal of tourism surrounding the Salem witch trials, especially around Halloween. Seal of Salem, MA Salem is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts. ... Witchcraft, in various historical, religious and mythical contexts, is the use of certain kinds of supernatural or magical powers. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

1 Symbols
2 Trick-or-treating and guising
3 Games and other activities
4 Foods
5 Cultural history
6 Religious viewpoints
7 Further reading
8 See also
9 External links

Symbols

Jack-o'-lanterns may be carved with funny faces.

Halloween's theme is spooky or scary things particularly involving death, magic, or mythical monsters. Commonly-associated Halloween characters include ghosts, ghouls, witches, bats, black cats, owls, spiders, goblins, zombies, skeletons and demons, as well as certain fictional figures like Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. Homes are often decorated with these symbols around Halloween. Download high resolution version (840x804, 96 KB)Photograph of a Jack-o-lantern File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (840x804, 96 KB)Photograph of a Jack-o-lantern File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Monster is a term for any number of legendary creatures that frequently appear in mythology, legend, and horror fiction. ... A manufactured image of a ghostly woman ascending a staircase A ghost is an alleged non-corporeal manifestation of a dead person (or, rarely, an animal). ... A ghoul is a monster from ancient Arabian folklore that dwells in graveyards and other uninhabited places. ... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... Suborders Megachiroptera Microchiroptera See text for families. ... A black cat in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. ... Families Strigidae Tytonidae An owl is a member of any of some 220+ (222 currently known) species of solitary, mainly nocturnal birds of prey in the order Strigiformes. ... Suborders Araneomorphae Mesothelae Mygalomorphae See the taxonomy section for families Spiders are invertebrate animals that produce silk, and have eight legs and no wings. ... A goblin is an evil or merely mischievous creature of folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or elf-like phantom. ... A zombie is traditionally an undead person in the Caribbean spiritual belief system of voodoo. ... Skeleton of a Blue Whale In biology, the skeleton or skeletal system is the biological system providing physical support in living organisms. ... St. ... Bela Lugosi as Dracula; U.S. postage stamp first issued in 1997 as part of a series celebrating Famous Movie Monsters Dracula (1897) is a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, and the name of the worlds most famous vampire character. ... Boris Karloff as Frankensteins monster, along with Elsa Lanchester, in Bride of Frankenstein Frankensteins monster (sometimes Frankensteins creature or the Frankenstein monster) is a creature first appearing in Mary Shelleys novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. ...

Black and orange are the traditional colors of Halloween. In modern Halloween images and products, purple, green, and red are also prominent. Black is a color with several subtle differences in meaning. ... The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 620â€“585 nanometres. ... Purple is any of a group of colors intermediate between deep blue and red. ... Green is any of a number of similar colors. ... Red is any of a number of similar colors at the lowest frequencies of light discernible by the human eye. ...

Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins and scarecrows, are also reflected in symbols of Halloween. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx Autumn (also fall in North American English) is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition from summer into winter. ... Pumpkins Pumpkin attached to a stalk A pumpkin is a squash vegetable, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit (gourd from a trailing vine of the genus Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). ... Scarecrows in a rice paddy in Japan A scarecrow is a device (traditionally a mannequin) that is used to discourage birds like crows from disturbing crops. ...

The carved jack-o'-lantern, lit by a candle inside, is one of Halloween's most prominent symbols. In Britain and Ireland, a turnip was and sometimes still is used, but immigrants to America quickly adopted the pumpkin because it was more readily available; additionally, it is much larger and easier to carve. Many families that celebrate Halloween carve a pumpkin into a frightening or comical face and place it on their home's doorstep after dark. The practice was originally intended to frighten away evil spirits or monsters. Jack-o-lanterns may be carved with a friendly face, above, a menacing sawtooth scowl, or any look in between. ... Binomial name Brassica napobrassica The rutabaga or swede or (yellow) turnip (Brassica napobrassica, or Brassica napus var. ... Pumpkins Pumpkin attached to a stalk A pumpkin is a squash vegetable, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit (gourd from a trailing vine of the genus Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). ...

Trick-or-treating and guising

The main event of modern US-style Halloween is trick-or-treating, in which children dress up in costume disguises and go door-to-door in their neighborhood, ringing each doorbell and yelling "trick or treat!" This is a watered-down version of the older tradition of guising in Ireland and Scotland. The occupants of the house (who might themselves dress in a scary costume) will then hand out small candies, miniature chocolate bars or other treats. Some American homes will use sound effects and fog machines to help set a spooky mood. Other house decoration themes (that are less scary) are used to entertain younger visitors. Children can often accumulate many treats on Halloween night, filling up entire pillow cases or shopping bags. This article needs cleanup. ... A teenager reading a book, while wearing a dinosaur mask Halloween costumes are outfits worn on October 31st, the day of Halloween. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 kmÂ² 1. ... A shelf filled with candies Candy is often used as a synonym for the more general term confectionery in North America, whereas the word has become archaic in most parts of the United Kingdom and survives today almost exclusively in the term candy floss. In some areas, notably Scotland, candy... A type of chocolate sold by the Cadbury brand in the form of frogs. ... Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ... Fog Machine A fog machine is a device, used primarily in theatrical environments, which converts a water and glycol-based or glycerine-based fluid into a dense smoke-like vapor. ...

In Ireland, great bonfires were lit throughout the breadth of the land. Young children in their guises were gladly received by the neighbors with some 'fruit, apples and nuts' for the 'Halloween Party', whilst older male siblings played innocent pranks on bewildered victims.

In Scotland, children or guisers are more likely to recite "The sky is blue, the grass is green, may we have our Hallowe'en" instead of "trick or treat!". They visit neighbours in groups and must impress the members of the houses they visit with a song, poem, trick, joke or dance in order to earn their treats. Traditionally, nuts, oranges, apples and dried fruit were offered, though sometimes children would also earn a small amount of cash, usually a sixpence. Very small children often take part, for whom the experience of performing can be more terrifying than the ghosts outside. Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 kmÂ² 1. ...

Tricks play less of a role in modern Halloween, though Halloween night is often marked by vandalism such as soaping windows, egging houses or stringing toilet paper through trees. Before indoor plumbing was so widespread, tipping over or displacing outhouses was a popular form of intimidation. Casting flour into the faces of feared neighbors was also done once upon a time.

Typical Halloween costumes have traditionally been monsters such as vampires, ghosts, witches, and devils. In 19th-century Scotland and Ireland the reason for wearing such fearsome (and non-fearsome) costumes was the belief that since the spirits that were abroad that night were essentially intent on doing harm, the best way to avoid this was to fool the spirits into believing that you were one of them. In recent years, it has become common for costumes to be based on themes other than traditional horror, such as dressing up as a character from a TV show or movie, or choosing a recognizable face from the public sphere, such as a politician (in 2004, for example, George W. Bush and John F. Kerry were both popular costumes in America). In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, for example, costumes of firefighters, police officers, and United States military personnel became popular among children. In 2004, an estimated 2.15 million children in the United States were expected to dress up as Spider-Man, the year's most popular costume. [1] This article deals with vampires in folklore and legends. ... A manufactured image of a ghostly woman ascending a staircase A ghost is an alleged non-corporeal manifestation of a dead person (or, rarely, an animal). ... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ... The Devil is the name given to a supernatural entity, who, in most Western religions, is the central embodiment of evil. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ... The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... Firefighter in full turn out gear with a pickhead axe. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Police. ... Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ...

"'Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" has become a common sight during Halloween in North America. Started by UNICEF in 1950, the program involves the distribution of small boxes by schools to trick-or-treaters, in which they can solicit small change donations from the houses they visit. It is estimated that children have collected more than $119 million for UNICEF since its inception. UNICEF logo The United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946. ...

BIGresearch conducted a survey for the National Retail Federation in the US and found that 53.3% of consumers planned to buy a costume for Halloween 2005, spending $38.11 on average (up 10 dollars from last year). An estimate of $3.3 billion was made for the holiday spending. The National Retail Federation is the worlds largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants and grocery stores as well as the industrys key trading partners of retail goods and services. ...

A child usually "grows out of" trick-or-treating by his or her teenage years. Trick-or-treating by teenagers is accepted, but generally discouraged with genial ribbing by those handing out candy. Teenagers and adults instead often celebrate Halloween with costume parties, staying home to give out candy, listening to Halloween music, or scaring people. Halloween costumes A costume party (chiefly the US English term) or a fancy dress party (the more common British English term) is a type of party where the guests dress up in a costume. ... The following list contains songs which relate either directly or indirectly to Halloween. ...

Visiting a Haunted house or a Dark Attraction are other Halloween traditions. Notwithstanding the name, such events are not necessarily held in houses, nor are the edifices themselves necessarily regarded to possess actual ghosts. A variant of this is the haunted trail, where the public encounters supernatural-themed characters or presentations of scenes from horror films while following a trail through a heavily wooded area or field. A haunted house is a building that supposedly is a centre for supernatural occurrences or paranormal phenomena. ... Most popular in North America, a Dark Attraction is an event open to the public which simulates the experience of visiting a haunted house or other fear-inducing places. ...

Games and other activities

There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween parties. The most common is dooking or bobbing for apples, in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water; the participants must use their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. Another variant involves kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drop the fork into them. Another common game involves hanging up treacle or syrup-coated scones by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity which inevitably leads to a very sticky face. Bobbing for apples is a game customarily played on Halloween, but many people have looked upon this game as unsanitary. ... Species Malus domestica Malus sieversii Apple is the fruit (pome) of the genus Malus belonging to the family Rosaceae, and is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits. ... A girl in a swimming pool full of water Water (from the Old English waeter; c. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... In cooking, a syrup (from Arabic Ø´Ø±Ø§Ø¨ sharab, beverage, via Latin siropus) is a thick, viscous liquid, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars, but showing little tendency to deposit crystals. ... Scones with honey. ...

Some games traditionally played at Halloween are forms of divination. In Puicíní (pronounced "pooch-eeny"), a game played in Ireland, a blindfolded person is seated in front of a table on which several saucers are placed. The saucers are shuffled and the seated person then chooses one by touch. The contents of the saucer determine the person's life for the following year. A saucer containing earth means someone known to the player will die during the next year, a saucer containing water foretells travel, a coin means new wealth, a bean means poverty, etc. In 19th-century Ireland, young women placed slugs in saucers sprinkled with flour. The wriggling of the slugs and the patterns subsequently left behind on the saucers were believed to portray the faces of the women's future spouses. This man in Rhumsiki, Cameroon, tells the future by interpreting the changes in position of various objects as caused by a fresh-water crab through nggÃ m[1]. Divination is the practice of ascertaining information from supernatural sources. ...

In North America, unmarried women were frequently told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before they married, a skull would appear. The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cards from the late nineteenth century. Symbols of death are the symbolic, often allegorical, portrayal of death in various cultures. ... Greeting cards on display at retail. ...

The telling of ghost stories and viewing of horror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Television specials with a Halloween theme, usually aimed at children, are commonly aired on or before the holiday while new horror films are often released theatrically before the holiday to take advantage of the atmosphere. Ghost Stories (Japanese: å¦æ ¡ã®æ€ªè«‡, GakkÅ no Kaidan, School Ghost Stories) is a twenty-one-episode anime series created in 2000 by animation studio Aniplex for Fuji Television, based on a manga series by Yosuke Takahashi. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Foods

Main article: Poisoned candy scare

Candy apples

Because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest, Candy Apples (also known as toffee, taffy or caramel apples) are a common treat at Halloween. They are made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, and sometimes then rolling them in nuts. At one time candy apples were a common treat given to children, but this practice rapidly waned after widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the apples that they would pass out to children. While there is evidence of such incidents occurring they are very rare and have never resulted in any serious injuries. Nonetheless, many parents were under the assumption that the practice was common. At the peak of this hysteria, some hospitals were offering to x-ray children's Halloween haul at no cost in order to look for such items. Almost all of the very few Halloween candy poisoning (as opposed to tainting) incidents on record involved parents who poisoned their own children's candy, while there are occasional reports of kids sticking needles in their own candy (and that of other children) more in an effort to get attention than cause any harm. Yet the paranoia has continued unabated mostly because of the news media's misinformation and tendency to exaggerate threats — especially when children are involved. The poisoned candy scare, from the 1970s and early 1980s, refers to a moral panic in the United States regarding the threat that children could be in danger of ingesting razor blades, needles, or poison introduced to candy by senseless, malicious tampering. ... Picture is from stock. ... Picture is from stock. ... Candy apples (United Kingdom/Ireland/Australia: Toffee apples) are a common treat at Halloween because the holiday comes in the wake of the annual apple harvest. ...

A Halloween custom which has survived unchanged to this day in Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays the purchase) of a barmbrack (Irish "báirín breac"). This is a light fruit cake into which a plain ring is placed before baking. It is said that whoever finds this ring will find his or her true love during the following year. Barmbrack is a yeasted bread with added sultanas and raisins. ... Fruitcake is a heavy cake made of dried or candied fruits and nuts that are soaked in brandy or rum, often used in the celebration of weddings and Christmas. ...

Other foods associated with the holiday:

candy corn
bonfire toffee (in the UK)
hot apple cider
roasted pumpkin seeds
"fun-sized" or individually wrapped pieces of small candy, typically in Halloween colors of orange, and brown/black.

Candy corn is a confectionery. ... Bonfire Toffee is a very hard, very brittle toffee that is associated with halloween and only usually available at such times. ... It has been suggested that Cider festival be merged into this article or section. ... Pumpkins Pumpkin attached to a stalk A pumpkin is a squash vegetable, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit (gourd from a trailing vine of the genus Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). ...

Cultural history

Main article: History and folklore of Halloween

The history of Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. ...

Christian festival

Pope Boniface IV established an anniversary dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the martyrs when he consecrated the Pantheon on May 13, 609 (or 610). This Christian feast day was moved to November 1st from May 13th by Pope Gregory III in the eighth century in order to mark the dedication of the All Saints Chapel in Rome--establishing November 1st as All Saints Day and October 31st as All Hallows' Eve. Initially this change of date only applied to the diocese of Rome, but was extended to the rest of Christendom a century later by Pope Gregory IV in an effort to standardize liturgical worship. Boniface IV (ca. ... The term Virgin Mary has several different meanings: Mary, the mother of Jesus, the historical and multi-denominational concept of Mary Blessed Virgin Mary, the Roman Catholic theological and doctrinal concept of Mary Marian apparitions shrines to the Virgin Mary Virgin Mary in Islam, the Islamic theological and doctrinal concept... The Pantheon, Rome, in front of which stands the obelisk Macuteo, one of seven ancient Egyptian obelisks in Rome. ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... Events The Pantheon is consecrated to the Virgin Mary and all saints (or 610). ... Saint Gregory III, pope (731-741), a Syrian by birth, succeeded Gregory II in March 731. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... Gregory IV, pope (827-844), was chosen to succeed Valentinus in December 827, on which occasion he recognized the supremacy of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious in the most unequivocal manner. ...

The feast day of All Souls Day, celebrated to commemorate those souls condemned temporarily to Purgatory, was inaugurated by St Odilo, at the time the abbott of the influential monastery at Cluny, as 2 November in 998. The term purgatory is generally defined as the means by which the elect reach perfection before entering into the Kingdom of Heaven. The term purgatory in accordance with Catholic teaching, is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in Gods grace are not... Abbott may refer to: A person Berenice Abbott, a American photographer. ... The Tikse monastery in Ladakh, India A monastery is the habitation of monks, derived from the Greek word for a hermits cell. ... Cluny nowadays The town of Cluny or Clugny lies in the modern-day département of Saône-et-Loire in the région of France, near Mâcon. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ...

Halloween's Origin: Celtic observation of Samhain

According to what can be reconstructed of the beliefs of the ancient Celts, the new year began around November 1 or on a New Moon near that date, a day referred to in modern Gaelic as Samhain ("Sow-in" or alternatively "Sa-ven", meaning: End of the Summer). Just as sundown meant the start of a new day, shorter days signified the start of the new year; therefore the harvest festival began every year on the night of preceding the autumn new year date. After the adoption of the Roman calendar with its fixed months, the date began to be celebrated independently of the Moon's phases. November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

As November 1 is the first day of the new year, the day also meant the beginning of Winter, which the Celts often associated with human death. The Celts also believed that on October 31 (the night before the new year), the boundary separating the dead from the living became blurred. (There is a rich and unusual myth system at work here; the spirit world, the residence of the "Sidhe," as well as of the dead, was accessible through burial mounds. These mounds opened at two times during the year, making the beginning and end of Summer highly spiritually resonant.)

The Celts' survival during the cold harsh winters, depended on the prophecies of their priests or Druids. They believed that the presence of spirits would aid in the priests' abilities to make future predictions. Druidry or Druidism was the religion of the ancient druids, the priestly class in ancient Celtic and Gallic societies through much of Western Europe north of the Alps and in the British Isles. ...

The exact customs observed in each Celtic region differ, but they generally involved the lighting of bonfires and the reinforcement of boundaries, across which malicious spirits might cross and threaten the community.

Like most observances around this season, warmth and comfort were emphasized, indulgence was not. Stores of preserved food were needed to last through the winter, not for parties.

Norse Elven Blót

In the old Norse religion an event believed to occur around the same time of the year as Halloween was the álfablót (elven blót), which involved sacrifices to the elves and the blessing of food. The elves were powers connected to the ancestors, and it can be assumed that the blót related to a cult of the ancestors. The álfablót is also celebrated in the modern revival of Norse religion, Ásatrú. Norse paganism or Nordic religion is a termed used to abbreviate the religion preferably amongst the Germanic tribes living in Nordic countries under pre-Christian period that are supported by archaeology findings and early written materials. ... The BlÃ³t was the pagan Germanic sacrifice to Norse gods and Elves. ... The BlÃ³t was the pagan Germanic sacrifice to Norse gods and Elves. ... A small forest elf (Ã¤lva) rescuing an egg, from SolÃ¤gget (1932), by Elsa Beskow An elf is a mythical creature of Norse mythology which survived in northern European folklore. ... ÃsatrÃº (Icelandic Ã†sir faith) is a new religious movement which is attempting to revive the pre-Christian Viking Age Norse religion as described in the Eddas. ...

Halloween customs

Observance of Halloween faded in the South of England from the 17th century onwards, being replaced by the commemoration of the Gunpowder Plot on November 5. However it remained popular in Scotland, Ireland and the North of England. It is only in the last decade that it again became popular in the south of England, but as an entirely Americanized version. A contemporaneous sketch of the conspirators The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a desperate but failed attempt by a group of provincial English Catholics to kill King James I of England, his family, and most of the Protestant aristocracy in one attack by blowing up the Houses of Parliament during... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ...

The custom survives most accurately on the island of Ireland, where the last Monday of October is a public holiday. All schools close for the following week for mid-term, commonly called the Halloween Break. As a result Ireland and Northern Ireland are the only countries where children never have school on Halloween and are therefore free to celebrate it in the ancient and time-honored fashion.

The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have evolved from the European custom called souling, similar to the wassailing customs associated with Yule. On November 2, All Souls' Day, beggars would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes" - square pieces of bread with currants. Christians would promise to say prayers on behalf of dead relatives helping the soul's passage to heaven. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits at the Samhain. This article needs cleanup. ... Wassailing is the practice of going door-to-door singing Christmas carols and requesting in return wassail or some other form of refreshment. ... Yule was the winter solstice celebration of the Germanic pagans still celebrated by ÃsatrÃºar. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... All Souls Day by William Bouguereau All Souls Day (Commemoratio omnium fidelium defunctorum) is the day set apart in the Roman Catholic Church for the commemoration of the faithful departed. ...

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In Celtic parts of western Brittany, Samhain is still heralded by the baking of kornigou. Kornigou are cakes baked in the shape of antlers to commemorate the god of winter shedding his "cuckold" horns as he returns to his kingdom in the Otherworld. Puck is a mischievous pre-Christian nature spirit. ... Traditional coat of arms This article is about the historical duchy and French province, as well as the cultural area of Brittany. ... Kornigou are cakes baked in the shape of antlers to commemorate the god of winter shedding his cuckold horns as he returns to his kingdom in the Otherworld. ... The Other World in Irish mythology is the spirit world which coexists with the real world. ...

In the Isle of Man where Halloween is known as Hop-tu-Naa children carry turnips instead of pumpkin, and sing a song called Jinnie the Witch. Hop-tu-Naa is a Celtic festival celebrated in the Isle of Man on the 31st October; elsewhere known as Halloween. ... Turnip can refer to three vegetables, which are described under the articles Turnip (brassica rapa), Rutabaga, and Jicama. ... Pumpkins Pumpkin attached to a stalk A pumpkin is a squash vegetable, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit (gourd from a trailing vine of the genus Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). ...

"Punkie Night"

"Punkie Night" is observed on the last Thursday in October in the village of Hinton St. George in the county of Somerset in England. On this night, children carry lanterns made from hollowed-out mangel-wurzels (a kind of beet; in modern days, pumpkins are used) with faces carved into them. They bring these around the village, collecting money and singing the punkie song. Punkie is derived from pumpkin or punk, meaning tinder. Originally, in continental Europe, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count. ... Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area â€“ Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 kmÂ² Population â€“ Total (mid-2004) â€“ Total (2001 Census) â€“ Density Ranked 1st... Mangelwurzel or Mangold wurzel is a type of root vegetable of the family Chenopodiaceae, genus Beta (beets). ... Binomial name Beta vulgaris L. The Beet (Beta vulgaris) is a flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, native to the coasts of western and southern Europe, from southern Sweden and the British Isles south to the Mediterranean Sea. ... Pumpkins Pumpkin attached to a stalk A pumpkin is a squash vegetable, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit (gourd from a trailing vine of the genus Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae). ... From Old English tynder, easily combustible material used for starting a fire. ...

Though the custom is only attested over the last century, and the mangel-wurzel itself was introduced into English agriculture in the late 18th century, "Punkie Night" appears to be much older even than the fable that now accounts for it. The story goes that the wives of Hinton St. George went looking for their wayward husbands at the fair held nearby at Chiselborough, the last Thursday in October, but first hollowed out mangel wurzels in order to make lanterns to light their way. The drunken husbands saw the eerie lights, thought they were "goolies" (the restless spirits of children who had died before they were baptized), and fled in terror. Children carry the punkies now. The event has spread since about 1960 to the neighboring village of Chiselborough.

Sources: on-line report from the Western Gazette and a National Geographic radio segment. Chiselborough Fair is memorialized by Fair Place in the village. The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) reported that there was "a fair for horses and cattle on the last Thursday in October."

"Mischief Night"

The night before Halloween, known alternately as "Devil's Night", "Mischief Night", "Mizzie Night", "Gate Night", "Cabbage Night", "Mat Night", or "Goosie Night" is often associated with pranks or destructive activities performed by adolescents. Some of the acts range from minor vandalism to theft (e.g. of door mats — thus the name "Mat Night" in some areas), or even arson. Many youths involved in mischief night would be considered too old for traditional trick-or-treating. The most common wrong-doing is "T.P.ing", in which people's houses, lawns, and trees are covered in toilet paper streamers. This article is about the Michigan cultural phenomenon. ... A separate article is about the punk band called The Adolescents. ... A caricature of Gustave Courbet taking down a Morris column, published by Le PÃ¨re DuchÃªne illustrÃ© magazine Vandalism is the conspicuous defacement or destruction of a structure or symbol against the will of the owner/governing body. ... Thief redirects to here. ... The Skyline Parkway Motel in Afton, Virginia after an arson fire on July 9, 2004. ... This article needs cleanup. ... A roll of toilet paper. ...

In parts of Northern England, "Mischievous Night" occurs on the 4th of November, the night before Bonfire Night(associated to Bonfire night because the last phases of the plot were coming together). It is celebrated in the same way, although minor vandalism often includes fireworks, which appear in shops in Britain around this time for legitimate reasons — to set off alongside bonfires on the following night.

Religious viewpoints

The majority of Christians ascribe no doctrinal significance to Halloween, treating it as a purely secular entity devoted to celebrating imaginary spooks and handing out candy. The secular celebration of Halloween may loom larger in contemporary imagination than does All Saints Day. This article is about the Christian holiday. ...

The mingling of Christian and Pagan traditions in the development of Halloween, and its real or assumed preoccupation with evil and the supernatural, have left many modern Christians uncertain of how they should react towards the holiday. Some fundamentalist and evangelical along with many Eastern Orthodox Christians and Orthodox Jewish believers consider Halloween a pagan or Satanic holiday, and refuse to allow their children to participate. In some areas, complaints from fundamentalist Christians that the schools were endorsing a pagan religion have led the schools to stop distributing UNICEF boxes at Halloween. Another response among conservative evangelicals in recent years has been the use of Hell houses, which attempt make use of Halloween as an opportunity for evangelism. This article concerns the self-labeled Fundamentalist Movement in Protestant Christianity. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to a tendency in diverse branches of Protestantism, typified by an emphasis on evangelism, a personal experience of conversion, biblically-oriented faith, and a belief in the relevance of Christian faith to cultural issues. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... UNICEF logo The United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946. ... A hell house, also commonly known as a judgment house, is a haunted house-style attraction typically run by fundamentalist Christian churches or parachurch groups. ...

Other Christians, however, continue to connect the holiday with All Saints Day. Some modern Christian churches commonly offer a fall festival or harvest-themed alternative to Halloween celebrations. Still other Christians hold the view that the holiday is not Satanic in origin or practice and that it holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality actually being a valuable life lesson. Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism, or the state of the organism after that event. ...

External links

Preschoolers in Halloween costumes

Halloween Recipes Complete collection of Halloween recipes and party tips.
Halloween origins; Australian customs
Halloween in France
Various Christian Views of Halloween from a conservative Calvinist perspective
Snopes' Urban Legends reference page on the hysteria about pins and razor blades being found in Halloween candy
Pagan / Wiccan statement on Halloween traditions
National Retail Foundation statistics on Halloween
Annual Halloween Ghost Story Contest

Category: Halloween Image File history File linksMetadata NIH-preschool-halloween. ... Image File history File linksMetadata NIH-preschool-halloween. ...

Results from FactBites:

Halloween - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (5678 words)
	In Ireland, the name was All Hallows Eve and this name is still used by some older people.
	The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European pagan traditions, until it was appropriated by Christian missionaries and given a Christian interpretation.
	Initially this change of date only applied to the diocese of Rome, but was extended to the rest of Christendom a century later by Pope Gregory IV in an effort to standardize liturgical worship.

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